UFC Fighter Matt Hughes Visits Abt

Hundreds of fans packed into our atrium area last night to see UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) nine-time welterweight champion Matt Hughes, who was appearing here as a guest of DirecTV. Matt posed for photos, signed autographs, and took part in a live on-site remote broadcast by radio station Q101.

The UFC is a U.S.-based mixed martial arts (MMA) organization that has been growing steadily in popularity in recent years. If you’re not already a fan, UFC matches are the real deal—strictly legit fighting with no foreign objects or people hitting each other with folding chairs. The UFC offers 12 to 14 live pay-per-view events each year through cable and satellite providers like DirecTV, and a recent event in Montreal attracted more than 21,000 fans to the arena.

Although it would have been exciting to see, none of the fans at our event last night tried to challenge Matt’s fighting skills. The thought of ending up getting tossed into the fountain probably stopped any UFC wanna-be. —by Graham W.